Obesity is one of the biggest threats to public health. The groundworks for maintaining both a healthy and an unhealthy weight are mainly laid at an early age. Today’s youth grows up in a world which is obesogenic: their environment stimulates them to exercise little and to eat a lot.

We aim for a society in which children and adolescents can live, learn, work and enjoy themselves in an environment which has fully embraced a healthy lifestyle.

‘It takes a village to raise a child’ some people say. That’s why we pay a great deal of attention to the environment raising today’s youth. And we are not alone at this. Together with a host of local partners, Youth at a Healthy Weight (JOGG), helps municipalities and local stakeholders to create awareness with regards to nutrition, sports and exercise. We call this the JOGG-movement.

Move and play anywhere, for free

Most children in the Netherlands do not get enough exercise, even though they live in a country in which they can exercise anywhere, for free. Youth at a Healthy Weight and its ambassador Juvat Westendorp wants children to look at the world as one giant playground. Both our national campaign and locally organised activities emphasize that exercise can be done anywhere and is, in fact, pretty cool!

Read on at gratisbewegen.nl

Water at a day-care centre in Zaanstad

The habit of drinking water cannot be taught early enough. Zaanstad alderman Corrie Noom visited day-care centre Albatros and brought every toddler a gift: their own DrinkingWater cup. These cheerful cups make it enjoyable for kids to be offered more water. In addition it is a great way to start a conversation with their parents on the importance of drinking water.

Supporting local professionals

Youth at a Healthy Weight provides participating municipalities with coaching, knowledge and materials. The local JOGG-professionals however, are doing the real job. Together, professionals and socially conscious entrepreneurs initiate the kind of sustainable campaigns and interventions their community needs. Other important players within the JOGG-movement could be, for instance, your local teacher, greengrocer or sports coach because through their jobs, these people are in direct contact with the local youth.

too big a job to do on one’s own If everyone joins in with the effort, even more children will reach a healthy weight. Therefore we are working with social partners such as the Dutch Heart Foundation and Netherlands Olympic Committee & Netherlands Sports Confederations (NOC*NSF), as well as knowledge centres such as the Dutch Centre for Nutrition (Voedingscentrum) and the Netherlands Institute for Sports and Physical Activity (NISB). We have also joined forces with private partners, because they too exert a lot of influence on the environment in which today’s youth grows up. Our national business partners are: Albert Heijn, FrieslandCampina, Nutricia, Unilever, Zilveren Kruis and KOMPAN.

Continue reading about our partners at jongerenopgezondgewicht.nl/partners

Drinking water is a healthy choice

Drinking water is healthy and children like it. And yet the habit of drinking mostly sugary drinks has somehow crept in. And that’s a shame, because drinking enough water helps prevent obesity. With the DrinkingWater campaign Youth at a Healthy Weight emphasises the benefits of drinking water to children and their parents. Various JOGG-municipalities make use of materials from the DrinkingWater campaign kit to make an impact locally, for instance at schools and day-care centres.

Read on at jongerenopgezondgewicht.nl

a healthy start to life “In this digital age,

getting enough exercise is becoming increasingly important” Juvat Westendorp, ambassador

A Healthy Environment

Youth at a Healthy Weight focusses on the environment in which children grow up. Because it takes a village, to raise a child – remember? That’s why we are working to improve places frequented by kids, with our projects Healthy Sports Clubs, Healthy at Work, Healthy Schools, and with our manifesto ‘Offering healthier foods at school.’

over 425 sports clubs committed to becoming a Healthy Sports ClubChildren like joining a club to do sports. That’s great, because exercise is good for them. The foods offered at sports clubs, however, usually aren’t. The Healthy Sports Club program helps sports clubs create a healthier environment for doing sports; not by banning snacks or soft drinks, but by making it easier to choose a healthier option. At the end of 2014 the municipality Harderwijk kicked off the 300th Healthy Sports Club campaign.

Read on at gezondesportkantine.nl

Youth at a Healthy Weight aims to create a society in which all children and adolescents can live, learn, work and enjoy themselves in an environment which has fully embraced a healthy lifestyle. We focus on reshaping the environment of today’s youth with programs and highly recognizable campaigns, such as:

• The JOGG-approach• Healthy Sports Clubs• Healthy at Work• Healthy Schools• The DrinkingWater campaign• The‘Move and Play for free – just do it!’ campaign

Ambassadors :Prince Pieter-Christiaan van OranjeJuvat WestendorpErben Wennemars

Have you become interested in Youth at a Healthy Weight? Have a look at our website: jongerenopgezondgewicht.nl

improving the environment of today’s youth.

making healthy choices a habit.

“Since 2011, the percentage of obese children in JOGG- neighbourhoods in the city of Dordrecht has diminished by 20%”

Paul Rosenmöller, chairman of Youth at a Healthy Weight

The JOGG-approach

Within the Netherlands over 90 municipalities (as of December 2015) are now battling obesity by using the JOGG-approach. Youth at a Healthy Weight provides participating municipalities with advise, training, coaching and knowledge sharing. With their partners, these municipalities makes up the local JOGG-movements and thereby stimulate a healthy environment and a healthy lifestyle for today’s youth.

Close to home

The JOGG-approach is based on an integral community method. By way of our five designated pillars, we create the conditions municipalities need for local initiatives to succeed. In turn, the municipality appoint a JOGG-project manager, who unites everyone and coordinates initiatives. This projectmanager engages schools, sports clubs, local healthcare centres and other institutions to make the healthier choice the easiest choice.

Read on at jongerenopgezondgewicht.nl